Because You Loved Me
by TraceAce
Summary: Part 3 or 3 in the Love Doesn't Ask Why series. Stephanie McMahon has been kidnapped by her deranged husband after he finds out of her infidelity with Chris Jericho. Now it's up to Chris and his friends to get her back. But wil it be too late?
1. What To Do, What To Do--Chris Needs A Pl...

**Disclaimer:** I own no one. All characters are copyrighted to the WWFE Corporation, and I ain't even making a cent for this stuff. So no suing the poor innocent girl!!!

**Dedication:** Gotta dedicate the third part to my coo friend and awesome FF.net writer The Angel, who is the only one and will remain the only one that knows how I'm taking this story. Thanks for helping me sort out my ideas, girl! (Sorry I didn't call this Sacrificing Stephanie, LoL.)

**A/N:** Third part, people! Enjoy!!

Chris felt like shouting, crying, and breaking something in half all at the same time. _I said I would protect her. And now look at her—they took her. God, if I weren't so fucking stubborn, she would still be all right. This is my entire fault! _His mind kept wandering to the night before.

He had Booker where he wanted. Suddenly something jumped him from behind, and he faintly heard the bell ring to signal the end of the match. Booker must have been DQed. He didn't mind that until he heard Stephanie's scream. He was hurt then, very badly, because someone had hit him a few more times with the object which stung like a bitch. He managed to look up to see her being carried away by Rhyno.

He could do nothing, and no one else could either. Matt told him people tried to stop them, but Rhyno had a knife to her throat. There was no way they were going to endanger her that much. So they let him through, and watched her helplessly being dragged away. When he got in back and found out they disappeared with her, he had cried. He never cried, ever.

And they kept threatening to spill. He was worried sick. What did they want with her? Would they kill her? Hurt her? If they touched her even slightly, he had decided, he would kill all of them. But first he needed a plan to get her back in case she WAS all right.

He had been thinking all night. He didn't get a wink of sleep. He wasn't going to do anything that would get her hurt, which was probably the only reason he didn't rush them then and there. But there was no plan. There was nothing he could think of. He knew of no way to get her out of the situation. She could be anywhere.

He jumped at the knock at his door. It was strange, he was half hoping that she would just appear out of no where to run back into his arms. He opened the door and found Lita standing there. She frowned deeply when she saw him. Did he look that bad? Probably. He felt like that.

"Chris, you look horrible." She commented. He shrugged absently. "Did you sleep at all last night?" The look he shot her said it all. "You not sleeping is not going to help get her back."

"I can't sleep, I can't eat—" he walked into his hotel room, and Lita followed him in, closing the door behind her. He plopped down on the chair he had been sitting at for the entire night.

"Listen, you have to calm down." She sat on the bed. "I know you're worried—hell, so am I, so is everyone else—but if you let this get to you, you'll be in no shape to help her."

"I can't help it, do you blame me? What if Matt had gotten kidnapped, Lita? How would you feel?" he asked, looking at her. Lita sighed.

"I would feel the same way. I know what you're saying." She shook her head.

"This is all my fault. If I just listened to her—if I wasn't so fucking stubborn—" He let out a huge sigh.

"It isn't your fault, so don't think that. Listen, I just got a call from somebody—" she trailed off.

"Them!?" his head snapped up. Lita shook her head.

"No. Chris called me."

"Benoit?" he asked, raising a brow. She nodded.

"Yeah, he told me he was trying to reach you, but your cell is turned off or something. He's coming here on the next flight." She explained.

"He is?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Said something about how it was about fucking time you got a clue, and he wasn't gonna sit around and watch a year's worth of listening to you two argue go down the drain because of some psycho." She shrugged.

"That's all well and good, but Lita—I've been thinking all night. I can't think of a single way to get her back." He groaned.

"That's because only you are thinking. Listen, everyone wants her back. Everyone. This could be an entire federation deal. Chris, you've got the best allies in the world. We'll get her back." She swore. "Now listen, Matt and Jeff are downstairs. Chris, come eat lunch with us. Please?"

"But what if—"

"You know Stephanie wouldn't want you to die before you have a chance to save her." She responded. _All right, she has a point. I just don't feel very—social right now. _

"All right, listen, I'll go." He sighed. "But I don't really feel that—talkative right now."

"It's all right. You'll still get out of this room, and that's all I want." She paused. "Might want to get a little cleaned up, though."

"I guess so." He shrugged lightly, pulling himself up. He didn't really care what he looked like, but he knew he didn't want to worry the friends he had that were still with him like that. He grabbed the closest clean pair of clothing and got himself mostly cleaned up.

"Ready?" she asked. He nodded.

He followed her downstairs, and outside. Their hotel was pretty crummy, and thus the area around it was bad as well. Still, it seemed there was a decent little eatery. It was one of those you only had a mild worry about finding a roach on your food. When they entered, he instantly saw Matt and Jeff, and he followed Lita towards them. He let her slip into the seat first, and then he did the same. He tried not to notice the worried looks. He was so sick of it all. He wanted Stephanie back.

"How you feeling, man?" Jeff's voice was full of honest concern.

"Besides the fact that my girlfriend is in the hands of people who are most likely going to hurt her, I'm just peachy." He replied in a snap. He felt bad instantly, but was too bothered by his other problems to care. Jeff seemed to understand. They all did. 

"I can't believe we can't do a fucking thing right now." Matt complained. "If I could, I would have strangled their necks by now."

"We saw her as they were dragging her out. Couldn't do anything to stop them—" Jeff shook his head. "I'm really sorry, man."

"We need a plan." Lita stated. "Like I told Chris, we have a lot of people to help this time."

"But we need to find out where they have her, first." Chris groaned. "And we can't send a spy in, they'll catch on."

"How about Christian?" Matt suggested. "He's been showing his mean streak. We could make him pretend to join the Alliance."

"Trust a guy who wears a fuzzy hat and has gospel music play when he comes out? That's like letting Lita's life fall into Bozo the clown's hands." Chris snorted.

"But there's no one else besides him." Matt pointed out. "No one else has been acting like they want to jump ship."

"This is impossible." Chris's head fell to the table.

"Don't give up hope, Chris. We'll figure something out." Lita patted his back.

"Listen, I'm going to go. I'm really not hungry—" he trailed off. "Thanks for inviting me."

"Chris—" Lita frowned. Chris shook his head.

"I'm all right." He gave a small sad smile. "I just need to be alone for a little bit." Lita sighed, then nodded.

"See you around, Chris. If we hear anything, we'll tell you." Jeff informed him. Chris nodded.

"Thanks." He responded, meekly walking away. He just wanted to curl up and go to sleep and just forget about it all. Why the hell did this have to happen? It wasn't fair.

_Stephanie, I'm going to find you. Please don't give up. Just don't piss them off. _He sighed, finally making it to his room. He opened the door, then slammed it behind him. There had to be something he could do. He just wasn't thinking.

It didn't help he had her bags in his room. He sat on the bed, frowning largely, trying not to think about her. It wasn't working. He sighed, letting the memories of her flood into his mind. It was impossible to resist. Her smile, her body, her kiss—god, he missed her. The memories just hardened his resolve to find her.

He loved her. He would do anything for her, including risking his own life. And then it came to him, like a light in the dark suddenly coming on. He did skip only one idea. The idea itself was insane, almost unimaginable, but at that point all he had was the promise of help. He would go to the man who was the most cunning and manipulative person he knew.

He was going to talk to Vince McMahon. The guy couldn't hate his daughter that much, could he? Still, it made Chris nervous. From what Stephanie had told him, Vince didn't like him so much. He didn't blame him, but still, it was a bad position. _Perhaps if I ask him for help, he'll believe how much I love her. Or he could kick me out. Either way, it's worth a shot, right? I'm running out of options here, and the guy's got to have some brilliant scheme. It IS his daughter._

With his thoughts backing him up, he had decided. It was time to go to the one person he never thought he would look for advice. He just hoped Vince had some sort of heart in his body somewhere. _He couldn't hate her that much—could he? _Chris grabbed his coat and left his room again. He was hoping someone knew where Vince was.


	2. Chris And Kurt Really Should Not Work To...

It took him twenty minutes to find out that Vince was at a meeting downtown with some potential new advertisement executives.. That fact made Chris worry a little; how could he be at a meeting when his daughter was taken captive by insane brainwashed wrestlers. Who knew what they were doing to her. Chris tried not to think about it. It was too easy to have his imagination take over on that subject, and every time it just got him angrier.

But this posed another problem as well. He knew where the place was, but the thing was he had no ride. The night before, he was so out of it and upset that he had someone—he didn't even remember whom—drive him home.So now it was on to phase two of his plan, and that was to find a ride. He didn't want to bother the Hardyz and Lita again, especially after how he treated them.

He glanced around the lobby. There weren't too many people around, which was surprising because usually most were at least coming in and out. It was around one in the afternoon, after all. This meant even more hassle for Chris. There had to be someone around, there had to be. His wish came a few minutes later, and someone he particularly was hoping for didn't answer it. Still, glancing around, he saw no one else, and decided he had no other choice in the matter.

"Kurt, hey man—" he walked up to the Olympic winner, and Kurt nodded to him.

"Hey Chris." He responded in greeting. "How's it going?"

"I need a favor from you." He skipped the formalities quickly. "Please." Kurt looked at him, surprised.

"You're asking me for a favor?" he asked, cocking his head.

"Yeah, please. I need a car—you can even drive me if you want if you think I'm going to steal it—but I really need to get to Vince somehow, and no one's around. It's about Stephanie." He explained quickly.

"I don't know Chris, I'm sort of busy right now—" he trailed off.

"Every minute she's with them, she's in danger. Kurt, I care about her. Please, I'm only asking for an hour." He pleaded. Kurt looked at him, then sighed.

"All right. If it's about her, I'll help. But I'm driving." He finally gave in. Chris let out a breath of relief. Perfect. Now all he needed was to talk to Vince, and Vince would give him a plan. Yes, that's how it would be. He followed Kurt to his car.

"A Beetle? You rented a Beetle?!" Chris asked, his mouth dropping at the car Kurt was opening. "Kurt, it's YELLOW!"

"I like Beetles. Now get in or find another ride." He snorted. _Of all the people in the entire world to find in the lobby, it had to be the guy that rides a girl car like a Beetle. Jesus, I should have known. He does prefer milk to beer, after all._

_ _

__"Fine." Chris said. _The things I do for a girl. _He got in, and winced at the squished in area. He really hated being tall at points like these. "Let's roll."

"Buckle up first." Kurt responded. It was at that point Chris realized that this guy WAS as dumb as people made him out to be. He sighed and grudgingly put the seatbelt on.

"See? Look. All buckled up. Now let's go." Chris mumbled. Kurt look satisfied and pulled out of his parking space. After that, Chris didn't talk unless he was giving directions. Again, that didn't seem to go well with Kurt, who did seem to like to talk.

"You know, when I'm worried, I listen to music." He offered.

"That's nice." Chris replied, hoping he would notice that he really didn't sound like he cared. Kurt leaned forward and turned on his radio. Instantly Chris cringed.

"What the hell is this?" he asked as the oddly perky and happy music assailing his ears.

"O-Town." He nodded proudly. "My favorite band." Chris twitched.

"Kurt, I have a headache, I've had a bad two days, and if you don't shut that off right now I'm going to take your CD and break it into nice little pieces." He warned. Kurt quickly turned it off.

"Grumpy." He huffed. Chris sighed, rubbing his temples. Maybe this was some sort of horrible dream. Yes, and when he woke up, she would be next to him, and he wouldn't have to deal with Mr. MilkMan. Another length of silence came through, and then it broke when Kurt decided to talk again. "I'm worried about her too, you know."

"That's nice." Chris said in reply.

"No, really." Kurt nodded. "I'm just trying to get your mind off her for a while. I mean, you haven't thought of her once for a prolonged period of time since you got in this car, have you?"

"I—" Chris paused. _Wow, he's right. I've been cursing my luck for getting stuck with him. _"Maybe."

"I thought so." He gave Chris one of his wide goofy grins. Chris shook his head, trying not to smirk. "Well, here's the building." He pulled into a spot. "I'm coming with you, you know."

"Why?" Chris inquired.

"Vince likes me." He grinned. "And anyway, I'm the WCW champion. We're supposed to work together."

"Fine." Chris gave in. "But don't say a word, got it?" Kurt nodded.

The two entered the building. Instantly he saw the secretary at the desk and he walked to her, trailed by Kurt. The secretary looked a little nervous at their presence.

"Can I um—help you?" she asked.

"We need to talk to Vince." He replied.

"I'm sorry, Mr. McMahon is in a meeting—" she trailed off. Chris peered at her, then noticed her name tag.

"Ah, erm—Gina, is it? Yeah, well, tell Mr. McMahon it's about his fucking daughter who is in danger, all right? Can you do that for me?" Chris asked, then smiled sweetly.

"Y-yes sir." She responded, quickly pressing a few buttons.

"What is it?" Chris heard Vince ask in the speaker.

"Mr. McMahon, I apologize for bothering you, but there are two very built men here demanding to see you, something about your daughter—" she squeaked. There was a pause.

"Fine, let them up." He finally said. Gina nodded absently, standing.

"Follow me." She motioned to them, and they followed her. A few minutes later, Chris found himself standing in front of a very large door. "Mr. McMahon is here. Um—have a nice day."

"Thanks Gina." Chris responded, and watched her basically run away.

"I don't know why you wanna talk to him, Chris, but I have your back." Kurt informed. Chris nodded.

"I appreciate that." He responded. Chris opened the door; well, more like jerked it open. All the people in the room looked up at them. Chris pointed at the three men with Vince, then at the door. "You three, out."

"Chris Jericho how—" Vince stopped when he saw the three men meekly rushing out. Once everyone was out, Kurt closed the door and Chris made a beeline to his boss. Before Vince could cry out, Chris slammed him into the wall and lifted him. "Unhand me this instant!"

"You listen here you old bastard, and listen good. I should kick your ass right now for not even seeming to be remotely worried about your daughter, but I'm curbing my anger." He glared at him icily.

"Chris—"

"Don't talk." He commanded. Vince must have noticed the wild look in his eyes, because he actually did what he said. "I hate to admit this, but I need your head, Vince. You are the only one with the full power to get everyone to come together to get her back."

"And why should I help you?" he was still squirming, trying to get out.

"Besides the fact that if you don't I'm going to smash your face into the pretty ten thousand dollar meeting table?" he smirked. "It's also to save your DAUGHTER from being HURT."

"Why should I care?" he asked, glaring back at Chris.

"BECAUSE SHE'S YOUR FUCKING KID! What the hell is wrong with you?!" he finally let him go. Vince brushed off his suit.

"She didn't seem to be proud of that when she was in the Alliance—" he trailed off.

"Get a clue, boss, she isn't like that anymore!" Chris huffed. Kurt had been watching the whole thing, and he finally stepped in.

"She means a lot to all of us now." Kurt frowned. "You just haven't let yourself see that."

"I don't care." He responded, stubbornly. Chris, now feeling a little calmer, took a breath.

"You may not, but I do." Chris suddenly said. "And I know you don't believe me, but I love your daughter. If anything, help her because other people care about her." Vince looked at Chris in surprise. He paused, looking like he was thinking. He finally sighed.

"I don't understand you, Chris Jericho." He replied slowly. "How can you love her after what she's done to you? I didn't believe it before, because it just seemed so strange. But now I wonder—the tables are really turned. I should ask you—how could you know you can trust her?"

"Because I just do." Chris shrugged. "That's the best answer I could give you. And even if you don't trust her, you should at least let her have a second chance, huh?"

Vince looked from Chris to Kurt, then shook his head in resignation. "Fine. I'll call a meeting. That's all I'm promising you though, both of you. It's up to everyone if they want to help out in this little rescue mission." He paused. "And I'm personally putting you at fault if anything happens, Chris."

"I can deal with that." Chris nodded.

"Now get out of here. I have business to attend to." Vince straightened his suit out. Chris and Kurt both left without a single word.

_This has to work. With all those heads put together, we'll have to think of something. At least Vince believes that I love her now—too bad he didn't believe it earlier when I actually could be happy about the fact._


	3. Benoit's Back--But There's A More Surpri...

Chris woke up, half expecting her to be curled up against him, sleeping soundly. He was more or less disappointed when he turned over and felt the emptiness beside him. He knew he was going to suffer if he slept. She haunted his dreams, and now the realization of what happening was finally sinking in when he woke up and still found his personal hell still there. This was not a dream like he kept hoping it was.

He suddenly became acutely aware that there was pounding on his door. He sighed wearily, pulling himself out of bed. He glanced towards the clock; he had been asleep for 3 hours. He had been awake for almost two days before that 3 hours. _That can't be healthy. I thought I might be able to get a little more sleep then that—who the hell is knocking on my door? _He stretched, sleepily opening the door.

"It's been awhile, man." Chris couldn't help but smile. This was exactly what he needed.

"Chris!" he exclaimed, surprised, even though he knew Lita had told him his best friend was flying in.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were actually happy to see me." Benoit chuckled.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He laughed. "Come on in."

"All right." He nodded, stepping inside. Chris closed the door behind him. "Say, since I flew all the way here for you, you're going to pay me back by letting me use your room."

"It's not like I need any extra beds anymore." Chris sighed, his mood quickly dampening. Benoit patted his back.

"Don't worry about it, man. You've got me now. I'm smart." He grinned, trying to cheer his friend up.

"Vince called a meeting for tonight." Chris shrugged lightly. "We're gonna plan out the strategy."

"You actually got McMahon to agree to help you?" Benoit raised a brow.

"Yeah." He nodded. Benoit smiled, even though the mood was obviously depressing.

"You've really changed since the last time I saw you." He pointed out. "I hate to say it, Chris, but you were a self-involved prick before. But now it's a little better."

"You really need to learn how to cheer people up." Chris replied tersely.

"I'm kidding." Benoit laughed quietly. "Seriously, though. You're pretty different now. I've been watching you dominate with that belt of yours. Still, there was something else that always made you have that smile on your face—even before you and her eloped."

"I'm so worried about her." He sighed.

"I wouldn't be. I'm sure she'll be fine." He tried to sound upbeat. "I'm sure it'll turn out all right."

"I'm hungry." Chris suddenly said, trying not to think about it anymore.

"Well, I'll watch your room and you can go to the vending machines—" he offered. Chris shrugged.

"I guess so." He responded with a nod. "I'll be back, all right?"

"I'll unpack." Benoit responded. Chris pulled on his shoes, not bothering to change out of his sweatpants and sweatshirt.He didn't care. He walked out into the hallway, then down it. Lita's advice to him was in his head—he had to eat something; Stephanie would want him too. Still, he didn't know if he could get it down without feeling sick to his stomach. How could he eat at a time like this? When he got to the vending machine, he found it was filled with junk—most of the stuff he hated.

He got a granola bar, which was probably the only thing that he could swallow. It was small, but it would fill him up. Just as he bent down to retrieve it, he suddenly had a feeling someone was watching him. He stood up, not moving, trying to use his other senses that he always relied on more then his eyes. He suddenly turned around and found his eyes meeting none other then Rob Van Dam himself.

He felt every muscle tense, and the silence between them was prolonged. RVD looked at Jericho coolly, his indignant smirk on his face. Chris had no clue what this guy wanted, but decided to let him talk before Chris based the judgment of if he wanted to kick the guy's ass or not. Finally Rob spoke, now looking at Chris semi-cautiously, like he was trying to decide the best way to put what he was saying.

"Before you kill me, hear me out." He put his hands up, trying to show that he meant no harm.

"You have 5 seconds before I rip your throat out." He spat. Rob gulped, looking even more nervous. Even he knew Jericho was a little out of it because of what happened.

"I'm on your side, Chris. Really." He explained. "And you can't hurt me, because without me, you can have every plan in the world—but you'd never find Stephanie."

"You know where Stephanie is?" he asked, now tensing even more.

"You don't want to attack me." Rob pointed out. "You need me. I am the most important ally you could have. They trust me, Chris. I can get all the information you need."

"How can I trust you?" he asked, raising a brow, looking highly suspicious.

"You don't have a choice, now do you?" he pointed out. "But to make you feel better, I honestly and truly do want to help. I know it's hard to take my word but I never lie."

Chris continued to eye him cautiously. He knew he always thought Rob was on the wrong side, especially because his tendency to show compassion when things happened—including when Jeff got pretty hurt during one of their matches. Still, could he trust him now? Chris wasn't completely sure. He did seem to sincerely talking, but still—well, he DID have a reason to wonder.

_I should at least hear him out. He's right; I really don't have a choice. _"I'm listening." He responded lightly.

"Great." He looked around. "Wouldn't happen to have a bit more—secretive to talk, would you? If anyone saw me—"

Chris glanced around, then saw it. He grinned, taking Rob by the collar, dragging him into the men's bathroom. It was a single, so he was able to lock the door. "There you go. Now talk." Rob adjusted his shirt.

"Easy there. All right, Stephanie's been taken captive because Hunter wants it." He explained. Chris's eyes grew large.

"What do you mean Hunter?" he asked, feeling his heart skip a beat at the name.

"Hunter. HHH. The guy with the big sledgehammer. That guy." Rob frowned. "He went ballistic when he saw you and his girl making out on screen. 5 minutes after that one kiss, he called Shane and Shane set it all up."

"That bastard—" Chris mumbled under his breath. Chris nodded his head.

"Yeah, exactly. Listen, Hunter's been pretty rough with her. She refuses to listen to him, talk to him right—keeps saying she loves you. That isn't flying well with him. She's real beat up right now. I keep trying to tell her to just agree with him for the sake of her safety, but she refuses to lie. That and she doesn't trust me for a second."

"What has he been doing to her?" Chris asked. _This is not good—it sounds like he's hurting her. Son of a bitch—_

"Hitting her—especially with stuff. She has a lot of black and blues. I'm starting to wonder if he's getting really desperate now. He obviously doesn't want people to think you could steal someone from him like that. Definite form of weakness." Rob sighed. "They have her in this real high security place uptown. But they're moving her soon, to around the next area. It's a place called Al's Barn. She'll be there by tomorrow."

"Al's Barn?" he repeated. Rob nodded.

"Yep. It's gonna be heavily heavily guarded by a few chosen wrestlers, including Hunter himself. It's a death mission without help, so I suggest you find someone." He cautioned.

"And why do you care so much?" Chris asked, raising a brow.

"Well, obviously it's because I like her. She's a good person; I've always known that. A little out there, but still pretty good." Rob shrugged. "And nobody deserves to be treated like that anyway."

"So you're positive she's going to be there?"

"Positive." He nodded. "Oh yeah, and by the way, she told me something to make you believe me. She said that she never wants to get lost in Canada again."

Chris stopped short, his mouth slightly gapping. He hadn't told anyone about that. _He's got to be telling the truth; she wouldn't just say that for any reason._ He was about to say something but Rob had all ready left. Chris shook his head, knowing now that he had to believe him. He was right anyway; he didn't have anyone else to look to. Spying was too dangerous, and they needed to get her back as soon as possible.

Chris walked back to his room, his mind on the meeting. How would he explain this to everyone? He opened the door to see Benoit sitting, reading something. Chris came closer, blinking at the pink book.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Stephanie's diary." He nodded.

"Oh, that's nice, Stephanie's—WHAT?!" he snatched the book. "Where did you find this?!"

"It was under my pillow." He grinned. "Come on, it's not like she's going to catch us."

"I can't believe you said that. That's a comment I would make!" Chris groaned.

"I know. See? You're a bad influence on me." He chuckled. "Come on, you know you wanna read it—you can hear her voice through her writing."

"I don't know—" he trailed off.

"She says your hot every other sentence—" Benoit enticed.

"Really? Wait, no, this is private." He tossed it to the side.

"So what took you so long? The choice of junk food too great for you?" he asked.

"I bumped into Rob Van Dam." Chris explained.

"Oh really?" he asked, then looked at Chris oddly.

"What?" he inquired.

"I'm looking for the blood that splattered on you when you killed him. You cleaned up pretty well." He commented.

"Funny." He smirked. "Seriously, though—"

"Who wasn't being serious?" Benoit inquired.

"He told me where she's going to be tomorrow." He explained quietly.

"She meaning Stephanie, right?" he asked.

"Of course I'm talking about Stephanie." Chris rolled his eyes.

"But the last time I checked, he's the enemy." Benoit pointed out.

"Apparently not." Chris shook his head. "It seems that Mr. Three Letters does have a conscience, or at least pretends very well. Stephanie's being taken to some barn in the next town."

"Like an old McDonald barn?"

"How the hell is I suppose to know?" Chris huffed.

"Touchy." He smirked. "It's probably a trap, though. Don't let your guard down because of your emotions."

"No, I thought about that. And then he said something." Chris responded quickly. "He said something I never told anyone about, the only person who could have known was her."

"So you actually think someone like HIM could be trusted?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"I think so." Chris cocked his head. "He's a little like me, you know."

"A cocky, arrogant guy that uses three letter initials as a nickname?" Chris shot him a look. "Kidding."

"Either way, I think he actually may be on our side. And with that, that means getting her back is going to be just a little easier." He paused. "Because I know exactly where she's going to be tomorrow. Exactly."


	4. The Plan Starts..

Chris glanced around the room. All the wrestlers he could think of were crowded around the table. APA, Undertaker, Kane, Kurt, and even Tajiri—everyone. He wasn't sure if they just felt compelled to go out of pity, or if they just didn't even know what the hell the meeting was for. He hoped they all were willing to help. He hoped that they considered her apart of them enough like he did. What if they only tolerated her because of him? _No, I have to think positive._

_ _

__Vince was the last to arrive, and he sat at the head of the table, his eyes scanning everyone's in the room. Instantly, the incessant chatter quieted, and Chris knew that the meeting was going to start. Vince stood up a few moments later, again looking over everyone solemnly. He paused on Chris, trying to understand his facial features.

"I'm glad to see you all here." He finally said. A low murmur of chatter came up. He waited until they stopped to continue. "As I'm sure you've heard, my daughter has been kidnapped. Our enemies, like the cruel and heartless ones they have proved themselves to be in the past, are using her as some sort of sick way to get under our skin. She's in danger, grave danger. This meeting it to propose the idea of going to save her." Another murmur. Chris tried not to show his nervousness. "And the one biggest advocate of this idea is Chris Jericho, our WWF champion. I will now put this meeting into his hands."

_All ready?_ Chris took a breath. He almost wished he had written a speech like he had been planning on doing. He stood up, glancing at all the people watching him. "You know, the last year has been pretty insane, huh? All this Alliance horseshit." He noted everyone nodding in agreement. "And now this. Here I am, Chris Jericho, who at this time last year could have cared less about the safety of the spoiled little princess whom I thought had no feelings whatsoever. The entire notion was so farfetched to me. She was a bitch to everyone, loved to cause trouble, loved to cost matches—and I know you all felt the same way. But now—she's like family to me. The last few months she's really changed. I didn't think that was possible, but it's happened. I love her very much." He noticed he now really had everyone's attention.

"And I know you all must be thinking—what does that have to do with you? Well, that's pretty simple, she's apart of the WWF now. She has been for a good number of months. And even though some might not admit it, she's been nice to each one of you." He saw everyone look at each other.

"Well Chris, if you need the APA's help, hells yeah we'll help." Bradshaw finally said after a long silence. "She's the best damn card player I ever saw." Farooq nodded his head in agreement.

"Same goes with me." Edge nodded, putting his feet up. "Gotta stop the total heinousity that's going on there."

"We got your back." Jeff spoke for the three members of the little troop he was in. The other two nodded.

One by one, everyone agreed to helping. Chris was pleased, and Vince seemed a bit surprised at the feedback. It seemed Stephanie had indeed found herself with the trust or at least slight respect of the wrestlers present. Chris never had a doubt in his mind. He had seen her trying to make friends, and it seemed she ultimately did.

"But where the hell is she?" X-Pac asked, slouching against the wall.

"I know that too." Jericho explained quietly. They all looked at him.

"How?" Vince asked, curious.

"Rob told me." He replied. "Van Dam. He's on our side."

"I don't know, sounds fishy to me." Someone spoke up. Most of the wrestlers seemed to agree.

"Listen, he knew something that he couldn't have known if he was lying. I believe him. He says that come tomorrow, she's going to be kept in a building called Al's Barn near the next area we're going too. He said there was going to be a lot of security, but we could fix that easily. Hunter has her, everyone. But if we piss off all the top names, they'll be so busy with us, they'll forget about their orders. I'll need 4 people to come with me, and the rest of you—you'll keep them busy, all of you."

The wrestlers all looked at each other, again chattering about this plan. He glanced around, trying to pick out the perfect people to come along with him. He needed people who were strong but could easily hide. His eyes stopped on Kurt, and he instantly knew his first choice. "Kurt, you're coming with me." He nodded his head. "You too, Edge." He paused, glancing around. It took him awhile, but he finally came to his decision. "You up to it, Benoit?"

"Damn right." He nodded.

"Great. And finally, Matt, I need your back." Matt nodded without a word. "All right, now we have to find targets here. When we get set people, the ones left out will help with back up. Jeff, you're one of the best hardcore wrestlers we have. Rhyno is more then a match for you."

"Hells yeah." He grinned. "Rhyno is fun to wrestle. Easy to piss off too."

"APA, you guys need to get rid of the Dudleyz."

"That sounds fun, eh Farooq?" Bradshaw cracked his knuckles.

"Not better then cards, but it'll do." He nodded in agreement.

"Rock, since Austin probably won't listen to you either way, it's best to get rid of Booker T. You've done it before." Jericho nodded to Rock, who grinned largely.

"Chris Jericho, you surprise the Rock. That's almost too easy." He knew it was the way Rock agreed to things.

Chris continued down the list, leaving out the weaker members of the Alliance, who could replace the stronger as guards. Chris knew all of the top stars had big heads—they would forget about their duties quickly if they heard someone was talking about them negatively. After everyone got their orders, the meeting was ended, and Chris had to continue with his plan.

_I need to get someone to spread that rumor—and that person is going to be Rob Van Dam. _After he and Benoit had gotten back to the hotel, Chris went on a search for that exact man. Thing was, he had no clue where to look first. RVD moved around a lot, and Chris always saw him by chance. Now it was late, and there were a lot of doors to knock on, a lot of them he couldn't knock. Actually, he couldn't knock any of them. That was like a death wish. He'd probably get beaten up every single time he did it.

But somebody somewhere liked him. Just as he was going to give up the search, when he happened to look in the all night café that was in the hotel and found RVD alone. The entire café was empty besides him and the workers, who looked like they were about to fall asleep as well. Chris walked into the area, and he nodded to the waitress who just yawned at his presence. Even though he was in a crappy mood, he couldn't help but muse about how he should report the bad service.

He walked right up to Rob, and he didn't even look up, but continued to stir his coffee. Chris just stood there, not exactly sure how to start it. "Sit down." Rob finally said. Chris shrugged and sat across from him.

"We're all ready with the plan." Chris explained lowly. Rob nodded, still not looking up.

"I've been waiting for you. I knew you were going to look for me. I saw you pass by a few times."

"And you didn't call me over?" Chris asked, exasperated.

"I was having fun watching you look." He laughed. "You know, when you're frustrated, you seem to like swear to yourself a lot—"

"Just—stop talking." Chris groaned, and RVD seemed to bite back another laugh. "All right, it's all gone through. We're all set up. I need your help again."

"What do I have to do?" Rob asked, now serious.

"Here's a list." He handed it over to Rob. It had all the match pairings on it. "I need you to go to each one of your Alliance buddy and say who they're paired up with on this paper is saying bad shit about them."

"Let me guess, you plane on pissing everyone off so they forget their duties, huh?"

"Exactly the plan, and it's going to work." Chris replied confidently, then paused. "How is she?"

"A wreck." Rob sighed lightly. "She thinks you probably don't care that she got taken. I can't tell her otherwise, either, because Hunter's guarding her like a hawk. I've only gotten to talk to her once, and this was before we talked. I think Hunter's sharp angry words are getting to her. She's starting to believe him."

"She what?!" his eyes had widened.

"'Fraid so, man. You have to get her out of there. She's covered in bruises now." Rob sighed.

"I will. Tomorrow." He cracked his knuckles, thinking about the pounding he was going to give Hunter for hurting HIS girlfriend. "Tomorrow."


	5. The Rescue Mission

"So, are we all agreed?" Chris asked the group before him. The ones he had chosen to come along with him—Kurt, for his overall strength, Edge, for his obvious quickness, Matt, for his fearless attitude, and Benoit, who would always be his right hand man—they were all in a circle, and all were wearing total commando-like clothing.

They looked like idiots.

But even through that, they were hard to see. Which probably was a good thing, because if anyone did see them they would probably be laughed out of the area. They had found Al's Barn, which was unfortunately nothing like a real barn. It looked like a big metal thing in the middle of nowhere. God knew what it was before they made it into the head quarters that it was now.

There was nowhere to hide their car, so they left it a good mile away and walked it. There was no way Chris would take any chances. So now they were sneaking through a grassy area, and by the time they got there, it was fully dark and none of them could see well.

"What's that hissing?" Edge whispered as they snuck their way to the area.

"I don't know I—holy shit!" Kurt squealed, jumping back. Sadly, Matt was behind him and Kurt and him fell backwards.

"Shaddup! It's not even a poisonous snake." Benoit hissed himself. Kurt got a better look at it. It was so little, and it slipped into it's hole in seconds. Kurt gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry." He coughed, standing. Matt stood up, brushing himself off, looking annoyed.

"Quit spazzing out, man." Matt grumbled.

"I'm not spazzing out—" Kurt pouted.

"Excuse me! Do you mind we leave the fighting until the time when we're trying to get caught?!" Chris glared at the two, his voice a hard whisper.

"We're gonna try to get caught? You never said—" Kurt noticed the glare he was getting from Chris. "Never mind. Sorry."

"Come on." Chris commanded, leading his little troop closer. Chris led them to a large rock that could hide them all well. They were so close that they could see the details of the building, including the sight of the first two guards they'd have to get through—Kanyon and Tommy Dreamer.

"All right, we need to get them away from that door so that they don't shout for back-up. Edge, think you can get them to chase you?" Chris turned to stare at the tall, lanky fellow Canadian.

"Well, I could try, but I would think one would stay behind." He whispered in reply.

"Just get rid of at least one of them." Chris responded lowly. "We'll take care of the rest. Get out far and beat 'um into submission."

"Sounds good." Edge nodded his head. "Good luck you guys." And like that, he ran out, waving his hands insanely.

"Hey Kanyon, Lita'll never go out with you—you're a fucking idiot." He called out. Chris looked toward them—Kanyon was steaming. Seconds later he took off after him, but Tommy indeed stayed behind.

"Stay here." He commanded lightly to the ground. Chris slowly took the other much more discreet way, and snuck past Tommy, hiding behind the side of huge building. _Good, he's not facing me. _Chris Slowly slunk towards him, and in an instant, got him. Tommy squirmed in his grip as he applied the sleeper hold he had on him, but slowly began to lose his consciousness.

He slumped down in Chris's arms. Chris kept it until he knew Tommy was fully out. He then proceeded to drag him to the corner he hid and threw him into a small grassy ditch. He rolled down effortlessly, landing face first at the bottom. _Too easy. _He gestured to the group waiting for them and they quickly made their way to where he was standing.

"All right, we got through the first wave." Chris nodded. "Let's get going." They slowly walked to the door that had been being guarded. Chris peeked in the window carefully to see a huge factory with a lot of big boxes. _Is this a storage place? _"We split up. Take out who ever you find. Try to keep it quiet."

"Right." The three agreed together. With that, he softly opened the door, pointing to the directions each person was to go. When they all left for it, he did too, in the remaining way. He slowly snuck around, hoping to catch a glimpse of a door or something of that nature.

He heard voices. He paused, inching closer to the edge of a big box he was currently hiding behind.

"Yeah, man, Jericho was taken out by Austin earlier—" Chris realized he was staring at RVD speaking to Hunter, who was glaring as always. Hunter wasn't facing him, but RVD was. He waved a quick hand, and suddenly it seemed like RVD noticed him.

'Get him away from the door' Jericho mouthed slowly. RVD raised a brow, but seemed to understand. "Listen, Hunter—you hear something?"

"No—" he trailed off.

"Exactly. I think your guards are slacking off. Why don't we check?"

"But Stephanie—"

"She's tied up in the BACK ROOM." RVD said it a little bit louder, so Chris could hear.

"Why are you screaming?" Hunter asked, raising a brow.

"Um—no reason. Come on, it's not like she's going to get up and walk away—" RVD quickly covered.

"Fine." He sighed. "I feel like walking around anyway." And so Chris's path was cleared as they walked away. _That guy's all right—well, time to be the hero._

He snuck slowly to the door RVD had mentioned. It was small, and the window showed it was pitch black inside. He tried to open the door. Locked. "Shit," he muttered. _I'm to close—I can't give up now!_ And with one mighty punch the window broke to pieces. _So much for a quiet exit. _He quickly opened the door and basically bolted in, fumbling for the light and ultimately getting it.

The sight left him to pause in shock for a moment.

His hand, which was now flowing blood from the various glass cuts, paled in comparison to what he saw before him. She was on a chair, gagged, tied up—and horribly brushed. They were all over, her face, her arms—everything. She was unconscious, too, which added to the more and more problems of the moment. Chris shook out of his horror and quickly began to untie her. _I have to get out of here fast—shit shit SHIT!! Why isn't this thing untying!?_

_ _

__"Chris look out!" he only barely dodged the object that was aimed at him. It smashed into the wall instead. "Ugh!" Chris looked up to see RVD slump down, though someone was still holding his collar of his shirt, someone Chris didn't want to see. Hunter. He hit RVD again, with the steel bat. RVD was twitching with pain.

"Stop!" Chris growled. Hunter stopped in mid-swing, grinning haughtily. Chris stood up. "Leave him out of it. This is between you and me." Hunter let out a puff of air and kicked RVD in the stomach. RVD unconsciously curled in a ball as Hunter stepped over him.

"Naw, you have it wrong, Jericho." His smirk widened. "It's between me, you, and this bitch—"And then he pulled his arm back and swung his bat hard at her. Jericho was quick to action and caught the blow with his hands, which hurt like a bitch and probably tore open his hand even more. He ignored the pain and pushed the bat hard into Hunter's stomach, making Hunter take a few steps back, stunned by the blow.

Chris managed to get the bat out of his hand when he was holding his stomach in pain. He pushed him onto his back and he lay prone on the floor. He let his arm lift in readiness to smash Hunter's head open. "Go ahead, do it you bastard—hit me." Chris hesitated, and Hunter snickered lightly. "You can't do it. You're a weak mother fucker."

And then Chris let his arm drop. It was in a ready position, but not in one where he could really hurt Hunter. "You're right, Hunter—I can't do it. I'm not like you. Now get out of here or I swear to god I will smash you to pieces."

Hunter stood then, and Chris continued to eye him cautiously. And then it happened, the one-second he didn't have his full attention, Hunter suddenly produced another smaller weapon. The blow Chris received to the head almost knocked him out of his shoes, and he flew to the side, in the direction he had gotten hit. The bat flew out of his hands and landed harshly to the ground. Chris sat up, feeling woozy. Hunter was standing over him now, and he had seen the weapon he was just hit with—a wrench.

"You should know better by now Chris—never have any pity on your enemies." He snickered, raising it, about to lay a final blow on him.

Chris closed his eyes, waiting for death to greet him. It didn't come. He suddenly heard a thump and he opened his eyes to see RVD, holding his side with one hand and holding the bat with another. His face was split open, and he was panting heavily. At his feet was Hunter, who now had blood trickling down his head. Rob had just busted Hunter's head open.

"Son of a fucking bitch." He spat, suddenly falling to his knees.

"Rob—" Chris stood up, still a little dizzy from the blow. Rob shook his head.

"I'm fine." He wheezed. "Just—a little beat up, is all. Help Stephanie, man—"

Chris frowned, but did as he was asked. He finally got her free and she slumped against him. It was then Chris's little cavalry arrived, and all three of them gasped at the carnage. "Help Rob out."

And without a word Matt and Kurt helped him up. He was basically going to have to be dragged out, the way he looked. Chris picked up Stephanie carefully. Chris glanced at Hunter's fallen body and shook his head. He deserved that hit so much that Chris almost wished he were the one who had delivered it.

Almost. But the thing was—he never wanted to be like Hunter. He never wanted the anger to take over. Hunter had gotten what was coming to him without him having to do it. It was better that way, because Chris could always say that he was still better then Hunter in every way. Even if it meant he had to curb his anger to prove it. 

He followed the group out. They would need to get hospital attention quickly. Very quickly.


	6. Stephanie's Back--Physically, Anyway--

Chris winced as he accidentally moved his hand. It hurt like a bitch now, especially after the stitches were placed in. He hadn't seen how deep his gash was until they cleaned his hand of the blood that was still flowing from it. It was pretty bad, a lot worse then it hurt. It sort of went numb when he caught that blow with it that was aimed at Stephanie.

Stephanie—he hadn't seen her since they all came stumbling in, looking like they were in some huge car accident. That was two hours ago. Hunter was in the hospital now, too, but under lock and key—especially after Chris told the nurse that it was he who created this mess. Chris knew he was going to jail, for kidnapping, assault, battery—the works. Just was he deserved. He deserved it all.

Chris was in the waiting room now, waiting to hear about either his girlfriend or Rob—more preferably his girlfriend, but he did care about Rob's well being as well. He had really come through in the nick of time. Chris wasn't even sure if he would be alive at this point if Rob hadn't stepped in. The guys who had come with him—Edge, Kurt, Matt, and Benoit—they were waiting now too, with Chris.

And all at once the news came, that they were both all right, but the bad thing was Rob was awake and Stephanie was not. Chris asked to see her, and the doctor agreed of course.In a minute he was in front of the door, and the doctor was gone. He slowly entered, feeling a little sick all of a sudden. She looked just like she looked when he first saw her. Bruised, but now bandaged.

She had suffered bruised ribs, that's what the doctor said. Hits to the head. Emotional trauma. All not so very good things. He sighed lightly, walking to her bedside, ignoring the gnawing pain in his hand. It didn't matter anymore. She was safe with him again. It was worth all of this. She continued to sleep away as he took her hand lightly. _God, I missed her so much. _

He refused to cry. She was safe, he should be happy. Still, seeing her this way—it made his blood boil. She didn't deserve this. None of this. Yet it happened, and now she looked like a truck hit her. She suddenly moved, and it made him actually jump. He wasn't expecting that. And when she opened his eyes, he felt relief flood over him.

It was short lived. Very short lived.

"Hey honey.." Even though she looked like she was still woozy, the smile she had on her face was—weird.

"Stephanie?" he asked, uncertain.

"Stephanie? Who's that?" she asked, though not sounding like she cared. "What's your name Blondie? You're pretty cute, you know—"

"Wait a second, are you telling me you don't know who I am?" he asked, his heart falling.

"Well, I don't usually see my clients—it's a little dark there." She winked seductively, and Chris's mouth dropped.

Those hits to the head had turned his poor girlfriend into some person who thought she was a slut. _Damn, I'm really feeling bad for calling her one now._ "Stay here. I'll be right back Stephanie—"

"The name is Deliah, buddy." She giggled. "But hey, you pay me—you can call me Jerry for all I care—"

"Right. Deliah." He mumbled. "Just—stay there." Chris ran to get a doctor. When he found one, he dragged the poor guy back to the room.

"What's this about Mr. Jericho?!" the doctor asked angrily.

"You have to fix her head. She thinks she's some girl named Deliah—"

"What are you talking about, 'think'?" she pursed her lips, smirking slightly. "You know, baby, if you want some fun—"

"I see." The doctor quickly understood. "I was afraid of this. Come outside with me."

Chris stepped outside with the doctor, not in earshot of Delia—erm, Stephanie. "What's wrong with her?" he demanded.

"Well, you see, in cases like these, with bad hits to the head, they usually lose their memory." He paused. "But it seems that the verbal abuse that was described has gotten to Ms. McMahon."

"Well FIX it!" Chris huffed. "I do NOT want to be dating some hooker named Deliah—"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jericho, but it doesn't work that way—" he squirmed nervously. "You see, the patient usually has to get his or her memory back on their own—"

"You mean you can't just—force it?"

"I'm afraid not. Usually it comes back in spurts."

"How long does THAT take?"

"Um—a few months?" he coughed.

"A FEW MONTHS?!" he yelped out. "What do you MEAN a FEW MONTHS?!"

"Well, that's how long it usually takes patients—" the doctor replied, sounding more nervous.

"Well can't you like—speed it up?!" Chris asked.

"No." he sighed. "The best thing you can do is surround her with stuff from her past and hope it comes back to her."

"Wait a second—are you saying she might NEVER get her memory back?" he asked.

"Well, it's rare but still it's a possibility—" he replied lightly.

"Lovely. Just lovely." Chris sighed loudly. "I finally find someone for me and she ends up hitting her head and losing her memory. This is just my luck, you know—"

"Chris!" Chris turned around to see Vince coming towards him. _Oh, this is just getting better and better. _"How is she?"

"Well, hate to tell you, Vince, but your daughter's new name is Deliah." He muttered, annoyed. Vince looked confused. "Stephanie seems to think she's some sort of hooker named Deliah—it's not pretty."

"She WHAT?" he asked, his mouth dropping. "Let me see—" He walked past Chris and the doctor and entered the room.

"Ooh, an older man—hey Blondie, he a friend of yours?" she grinned widely. Vince blinked in shock.

"I told you." Chris muttered. Vince shook his head.

"Stephanie? It's dad—" he frowned.

"Oh, you like it like that, huh?" she giggled gleefully. Chris groaned, smacking his good hand to his head.

"Please come with me, Mr. McMahon—we have to talk about your daughter's—condition." Vince nodded, walking out with the doctor.

"Just you and me now Blondie—" she raised a brow.

"My name is Chris. And YOU are not a hooker."

"You're right. Female entertainer really is a good word—" she laughed. Even though her ribs hurt when she moved, she actually did sit up, grinning seductively at him. "I don't know how I got these injuries, but looking at your hand I'm tending to believe you must have rocked—"

"This is going to be a long night." He mumbled under his breath. "Get it straight Steph—"

"Deliah—"

"WHATEVER! We never had sex. And I especially am never going to have sex with you when you think you're some three cent whore!" he explained.

"Actually, my pay is pretty high these days—" she giggled. Chris shook his head. _This can't be happening. I think I HAVE died. Now I'm in hell. _"You're so tense, baby—here, I'll give you a free back-rub—"

"No!" he jumped up from the seat he was sitting in. She smirked.

"You know you want it." She sniggered. He groaned.

"Just—sit there and don't talk. I have a headache." He flopped down in the seat again.

"Poor baby—" she grinned largely. "I can make it all better—"

"No thank you." He huffed. She smirked, but before she could continue her little 'fun', Vince and the doctor walked in. Vince frowned towards his daughter.

"The doctor said it would be in the best interest to just let her rest." He explained to Chris as Stephanie listened intently.

"I like resting. Especially next to hotties like you—" Stephanie sniggered. Chris ignored her.

"And since you're so good with her, Chris, I'm intrusting her care with you." Vince nodded.

"Me?" he asked, surprised. "Vince—listen—" He guided him to a corner and continued lowly. "I can't watch her. She's all ready all over me and I don't think I can—"

"I have confidence in you, my boy." Vince clapped him on the back. "Oh, and if you happen to use her like that—I'll snap your neck. All right?"

"—Fine." He sighed.

"Anyway, the doctor said she needs to be in a familiar place, and since she's been staying with you—" he trailed off.

"It's a familiar place." Chris sighed. "I got it."

"Great. I'm glad we're on the same page." He grinned.

"Have you heard about Rob?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, actually. He's all right. Resting now, they want to keep him here overnight. Stephanie, however—"

"They can't even keep her here the night?" Chris asked, exasperated.

"You'll do fine. Just—go with it, to an extent. Help her get the right memory back." Vince explained, then turned to Stephanie. "All right, Stephanie, you're going with Chris—"

"Do you people have some other hooker named Stephanie?" she asked curiously. "My name is DELIAH, and I don't go to hotels without money—"

"Well guess what sweet cheeks, you're coming with me." Chris smirked.

"You can't make me." She pouted.

Chris paused. "My money is in my room."

"Well let's go then." She stood up, wincing as her ribs ached. "—Don't mind if we do it a little softer, do you?"

"Not a problem." He mumbled.

~~

"So, where's the money?" she asked, glancing around. "This place looks like a pig lives in it."

"There's no money." He shook his head.

"You people are fucking insane. I'm out of here—" Chris caught her arm.

"Where are you going to go?" he asked. She paused. "That's what I thought. Listen, I know you think you're Deliah, but you're not. Your name is Stephanie McMahon, and you're my girlfriend."

"You wish, Blondie." She smirked.

"It's true." He just wanted her to believe him. "Look, here, I'll show you—"

She eyed him cautiously. "And how will you do that?"

He got a piece of paper out, and a pen. "Write your name." She looked confused, but shrugged and signed her name. "No, your real name. Stephanie McMahon."

"It's not my real name." She replied stubbornly, but sighed. "Fine, if this'll get you to shut up—" And she signed it.

"Now look—" he walked to a dresser, where the diary Benoit had found days before lay. He flipped the pages and stopped at one of her signatures. He walked over and placed it in front of her.

'Deliah' couldn't say a thing against it, her handwriting was exactly the same.


	7. Broken Memories Of The Past..Poor Deliah...

**A/N:** All right…I know it's been a little over..uh..2 months since I updated this…but the point is, here's the new chapter! See! I never let ya down! ^____^

                Chris woke up, and he actually wondered if all the things that had transpired were all a terrible dream—one that was now over, and he would roll over and find her there—nice and normal. However, when he rolled over, she wasn't there. Further, he opened his eyes to find her no where to be seen. His shot up, glancing around. Did she leave? _Oh god, that could mean—_

"Stepha—I mean—Deliah! Where are you?!" he shouted. He got up, and suddenly he heard the bathroom door open. Relief flood over him. She hadn't decided to go off on her own.

                Just like many times before, though, the relief was really short lived.

                "What's all the screaming about?"

                "Oh my god!" Chris turned around quickly, reddening. "Put some clothes on!" He heard her huff.

                "You're worse then a five year old." She responded before he heard the door close. He let out a breath, trying to stop from blushing. It wasn't as if he never saw a girl naked before, but he never actually saw **her** naked before.

                Yeah, it was strange—especially because Chris never actually had that want to do anything like that. It really was new to him. He was actually content with just holding her. Now she needed him, whether she knew it or not. No matter what she did, he was going to remain patient with her. _She's sick, after all. It'll be just like taking care of a cold. Only she'll be talking a lot. And trying to get in my pants. You know, it figures the one girl I DON'T want to take advantage of gets this._

                "You can turn around now." And he did. He blinked in shock.

                "That's my shirt! What the hell did you do to it?!" his mouth had dropped again.

                "I made it into a girl shirt." She smirked proudly. She definitely looked like what she thought she was.

                "You are NOT going out like that." He sighed loudly. She smirked.

                "Who's gonna make me, Blondie?" she challenged.

                "I am. Now here—" he got Stephanie's bag. 'This is your stuff." She groaned, opening the bag. After going through the entire thing, she ended up with one outfit.

                "Can't I just cut—"

                "No. Put it on. And take that make-up off." He smirked. 

                "I shouldn't be taking orders from you—" she replied, but went into the bathroom again.

                For a moment there, something had flashed in her eyes that Chris had only thought about after he had seen it. It wasn't the hard, unsure look that he had been getting from this 'Deliah'. No, it was like Stephanie just flashed in for a moment, like she resurfaced and then went under again. Chris hoped he wasn't seeing things, because it really did look like that—but hope really did do things to his head.

                It never failed him though, so why stop now?

                "Happy?" she asked when she finally came out. Chris couldn't help but smile. Even though she was bruised up, he could see Stephanie—the real Stephanie, through all the hostility that was radiating from her confused head. "I feel like an idiot. And my ribs hurt. You still haven't told me how that happened. I have a right to know, you know."

                "You're asking me?" he raised a brow.

                "Well, you people seem to all know me, so I guess I'll just go along with it." She shrugged lightly. "So—indulge me, all right?"

                "You were kidnapped by your soon to be ex-husband." He explained. "He attacked you."

                "I'm married—huh, and what are you to this Stephanie?" she smirked.

                "I'm her boyfriend." He said. "And I love her very much."

                And then the flash came again. "Chris—" Chris looked at her, surprised, but she shook her head and the gleam in her eyes, the gleam he loved, was gone again. "Man, my head hurts. All your Stephanie bullshit is making my bloody head spin."

                It was the first time he noticed she had a distinct British accent. "So, where do you say you're from again?"

                "Liverpool. Moved here 3 years ago." She explained confidently.

                "Do you remember what Liverpool looks like?" he asked.

                "Sure I do I—" and then she stopped. "Wow, that's strange, I don't remember at all."

                "It's because Stephanie has never really visited England that much. She wouldn't know." He kept getting points over and over again.

                "Back on that thing, huh?" she rolled her eyes.

                "You asked." He grinned.

                "You have a sexy smile, you know—" she pointed out gingerly.

                "That's nice." He smirked. She moved closer to him.

                "No really—" she trailed off.

                "You're not going to get to me, so don't bother." He replied. She smiled lightly.

                "Is that a fact?" she chuckled, then moved to where she could whisper in his ear. "I've gotten to a lot more tougher men then you."

                "Well that's not possible, considering you've only been on this Earth for a half of a day." He responded. "And I'm not going to disrespect the person you're suppose to be."

                "'Stephanie's' never given ya some loving, has she?" she grinned.

                "No, and I'm perfectly fine with that." He responded, sounding a little annoyed.

                "You know you want to fuck her—" she seemed to be enjoying this.

                "Actually, I'm fine with just her. You know, when you love someone, you don't need to do that stuff." He shook his head.

                "Where did you come from? Planet Loser?" she asked.

                "No, I come from 'Planet' Respect." He replied. She paused.

                "You're gay, aren't you?" she asked.

                "No!" he replied sharply. "Now listen, sadly Vince wants to hide your insanity, so I need you to be Stephanie for a few hours—"

                "Any reason why, Romeo?" she smirked.

                "Obviously." He smirked. "Big party. You know, 'Welcome back Stephanie'?"

                "My NAME is—"

                "Just do this for me, please?" he asked, his patience wearing thin. She pouted at him, but ultimately rolled her eyes and nodded. _Good. I'll trust her. God knows why I'll trust her, but I'll trust her. I know Stephanie's in there somewhere._

"So, will anyone cute be at the party?" she asked. "I could use a few kicks."

                Chris groaned outloud, walking into the bathroom.

                "What? Was it something I said?"

~~

                "How you feeling, Rob?"

                Chris had decided to not guard Stephanie for a moment to greet the people who had come over to the little party. So far all was going good. 'Deliah' caught on fast, and besides her weird attachment to Jeff, she acted pretty normal. Or Stephanie-like, anyway. _Gonna be over soon…_

"I'm cool." He nodded quietly. "Glad she's all right."

                _If you only knew_. "Yeah, good thing, huh?"

                Chris sat beside Stephanie again, catching the end of the conversation she was having with Jeff.

                "And so I was like—'Oh my god, what's up with your hair?'—he took offense, I guess." Jeff chuckled, and Chris decided just not to ask.

                "Chris, can I talk to you?" Lita suddenly asked. Chris blinked, then nodded.

                "Sure Lita." He stood up and followed her away from the table. She turned to him when they were far enough away. "What's up with her?"

                "What?" he asked, trying to feign innocence.

                "She's acting really weird. Don't try to lie about it."

                Chris sighed, weighing his options. Lita really WOULD never tell anyone.

                "Listen, Lita, she lost her memory. She thinks she's someone else. But you can't tell anyone. Please?"

                "All right, I'll take that as an answer right now." She looked at him. "But you're explaining this to me fully tonight, all right?"

                "I promise." He responded.

                "What are you two talking about?" Stephanie asked, a smirk on her face. "Being all lovey-dovey?"

                Lita looked at her, then shook her head. "Better get her back to normal soon."

                "Tell me about it." He sighed loudly and watched her walk away. Stephanie instantly brightened.

                "Does that mean she knows?! I can act like my normal self?!" she looked a bit excited.

                "No. Only she knows. And she's gonna help me get you back to normal hopefully. So just sit down and calm down, all right?"

                "Aw, come on. I'm sick of being all goody goody." She pouted. _Stephanie? Goody goody? Well, I guess you could consider her that when you're someone like 'Deliah'._

"It's just for a little more. Most of the people are ready to leave now anyway. They just all wanted to see you." He paused. "The Stephanie you."

                "But I'm NOT Stephanie." She shook her head.

                "You may not remember, but you are. Somewhere inside you you are. And I really miss that side of you. I want her back, and I can't have her back until you realize that you're not Deliah. Now come on, people are looking at us."

                She just rolled her eyes and walked back to the table. She sat by Jeff again and continued a conversation that must have ended when she left. Chris looked at her, sighing wistfully. _One day you'll be back to normal, Steph. I'll be by your side until then. I lost you once, I'm not going to lose you again._

                Chris took her home after a few more hours at the party. She had done pretty well, only a few times slipping up to her current 'real' personality. He held the door open for her to their room and she walked in, yawning slightly.

                "What time is it?"

                He glanced at the clock. "Eight."

                "We were out that long? Wow." She looked surprised. She sat on one of the beds, sighing, rubbing her head lightly.

                "Something wrong?" he asked. _She looks pale suddenly. Or maybe I just didn't notice it before._

"I just have a little headache, that's all." She sighed. "You're a weird one, Blondie."

                "What do you mean?" he inquired.

                "You're almost making me believe I'm this Stephanie girl." She laughed lightly. "She must be pretty special if you're telling me the truth."

                "She is." Chris nodded without a pause. "It's pretty funny, because we—me and Steph—used to—"

                "Bicker?" she asked, then paused, weighing her words. "You and I—we always—"

                Chris leaned forward, looking at her intently. _She's remembering._

"My head hurts. Mind if I go to sleep early tonight?" she asked. He looked at her, surprised.

                "You're asking me for permission?"

                "Yeah." She said, and continued, defensively, "I thought it'd be nice if I was polite for once."

                He just nodded, and she stood up. She started to walk to the bathroom. He watched her. _I can't take it anymore—_

                He took her by the arm and twirled her around. She looked a bit surprised, especially when he pulled her into a kiss. She tensed up at first, then slowly relaxed into the soft embrace. When she finally managed to pull her head away, she stared into his eyes, breathless, her arms around his neck. "Chris?" she asked, her eyes searching his.

                It was soft and almost melodic, Stephanie's old voice, not Deliah's hard edged one. But like a passing memory, she went back to Deliah, and she pulled away, shaking her head.

                The moment that had just happened made Chris feel just a little bit better. He had seen Stephanie eye to eye for that moment's fleeting glance. He had heard her voice. She wasn't lost, nothing close to it. She could come back, and Chris knew there had to be a way to speed up the process. He looked at the clock again._ 8:10. I'm supposed to meet Lita at 9:30. Maybe she'll figure a way to get her back. Two heads are better then one, right?_

'Deliah' had indeed fallen asleep, and at 9:20, Chris left to meet Lita_. I'll get you back, Steph, no matter what it takes._ He kept promising her that silently as he had been doing since he found out what happened to her as he left the room, closing the door behind him.


	8. Lita's Pretty Dern Smart..

**A/N:** I wrote this in a car…LoL…

                Chris took a long sip of the coffee from the cup he was holding. _This stuff is all I've been drinking this last week._

                Lita watched him, almost cautiously. He knew how tired he had to look, with all the sleepless nights worrying about Stephanie, first with her being taken and now with her inability to remember that she wasn't a British slut. It all seemed almost unfair to him, with the fact that he never asked for the problems he had. He deserved to be happy.

                "How is she doing?" Lita asked, staring at him intently with a worried look gracing her normally calm hazel eyes.

                "Good for someone who thinks she's a hooker." Chris replied glumly, looking down at the now half empty cup in front of him_. Drank this much all ready? Man…_

Lita frowned deeply, letting her hand rest on his in a gesture of comfort. He looked up at her then, giving her a small sad smile to show he appreciated her concern. "This isn't your fault, Chris. I know you're blaming yourself, but it really isn't. Hell, you're probably the best thing that ever happened to her."

                "Yeah, because I know she always wanted to be someone like Deliah." He replied sarcastically. He lowered his head, sighing loudly. _I'm such a screw up._

He looked up to find Lita's eyes flaring up, almost like she was annoyed. "Don't even think any of this Deliah business is your fault. You're not the wife-beater, Hunter is. He could have killed her if you hadn't gone and saved her. We just need to think of a way to bring her back to the real world."

                Chris stared at her, mouth open in a surprised look.

                "Anyway," she continued, her eyes growing calm again. "She has to get better. She's one of my best friends."

                Chris looked at her, suddenly realizing something. _God, I really AM stupid. _Chris silently berated himself. He had been so selfish to think he was the only one affected by what happened to Stephanie. Lita herself looked as worn as he had to be, bags under her eyes. Vince, too, looked the same when Chris had seen him, like he was worried about his daughter's safety. So worried that he looked to Chris to save her, basically gave him the title of Stephanie's protector.

                _I'm not going to let anyone down. I won't. _His face showing his sudden resolve, his eyes flickering with determination, he took in a breath and exhaled it slowly. "We're getting her back. We just need to figure out how. Will you help me?"

                Lita instantly showed interest, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, Chris."

                Chris concentrated, trying to think. He let his mind wander to earlier that day, and even to the few hours before the meeting that was taking place at the moment. _She got her memory back a few times. How?_

"Has she shown any signs at all that Stephanie is still in there?" Lita asked, obviously thinking as well. Chris nodded his head yes.

                "A few times," he explained. "There's a connection, but I'm not seeing it."

                "Well, what was happening each time she got some of it back?" Lita asked. Chris thought about it.

                "The most recent was…well, I kissed her like I used to…she showed a flicker of recognition but then she…lost it." He sighed, but continued to think. "And another time was when I mentioned how we used to fight…what?"

                A knowing smile had spread onto her features and Chris finally noticed it. _Does she know something I don't?_ "Don't you see, Chris?"

                "See what?" he stared at her, utterly confused.

                "Her connection to the past is you." She replied matter-of-factly.

                "Me?" he questioned, not fully following her thought pattern.

                "Think about it, Chris. She's been through this highly traumatic experience." Lita sat back in her seat, still regarding him. "From what Rob told me, all Hunter did the entire time was hurt her…physically, yes, but mostly mentally. Most people never recover from something like that, even without losing their memory. Bust she's still in there, and the only reason why that is true is because she knew someone was going to save her. You got through part one of getting her back, and it'll be you bringing her back through this part too."

                "But why me? It could be someone else…her family, maybe…?" he trailed off.

                "Right. Keep dreaming. You're her whole world, Chris. Her family was crap, her husband…well, you know him…but then there was you, this incredible guy who treated her like an equal, helped her get her mind on the right track. It's only natural that all the memories of you would bring her back to the real Stephanie because one, they're probably her happiest memories, and two…you're the one who actually helped shaped the Stephanie that we knew." She grinned at him. "You gotta be the hero, Chris."

                Chris let what Lita said sink in, quietly thinking about all the times he had with Stephanie. She had made her the happiest person he had been for a long time. He never once felt like he had made a mistake falling in love with her.

                "Thanks Lita," Chris said, standing up. "I better get back to the room. Don't want her sneaking out."

                He tossed some money down, enough for the coffee the two had had. Lita nodded lightly, then winked at him. "Gimme a call if she comes back to the real world, okay? Or if I can help out with anything."

                "You got it." He nodded.

                Chris turned and left then, heading back to the room. _You know, thinking about it, maybe it wasn't a good idea leaving Stephanie all alone. She might have woken up and snuck out for all I know. Not good, not good… _He opened the door and found her not in bed. Instantly his worries grew to all out panic, and he looked around for her, hoping she hadn't just up and left.

                "Blondie" he spun around to see her entering the room from the balcony. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "And you said I was bad, I thought you just up and left me. Yeesh."

                Chris shook his head. "Nope. Still here."

                Stephanie nodded her head. "I can see. So, where'd you sneak of to?"

                Chris threw his coat to the side. "Oh, Lita just invited me for coffee. Sorry I left without telling you, but you were asleep."

                "Talking about me, huh?" she asked, almost suspiciously. Chris didn't answer. "Still on that 'You hit your head' deal? The little 'You aren't who you think you are' theory?"

                He looked at her pointedly. "Do you believe it?" he asked.

                She sighed, turning around to look out the balcony sliding door toward the dark scenery. She stayed silent, like she was thinking. _Is she finally believing me?_

"I had this really weird dream. That's why I'm awake." She said finally, her voice low. "You really are mixing my head up, Blondie."

                "What sort of dream?" he pressed.

                "I don't know. It's like flashes of memories, but it can't be because I don't actually –remember- them. And it's giving me headaches."

                "Bad ones?"

                She shrugged. "Not really. It's really dull. Like it's there but it isn't." She shook her head. "I'm so confused. Just really confused."

                Chris noted how lost and confused she looked, and he instinctively pulled her into a hug. She didn't tense at all, but seemed to take comfort in the embrace. He felt her tighten the hug.

                "I promise everything will be all right." He swore. She just buried her face deeper into his shirt.

                He held her for a little while, then she pulled away, looking a little embarrassed. Excusing herself, she went back to bed. Chris himself got into bed too, but didn't sleep for a long time. Instead, he laid there and just thought about how he was going to get Stephanie back for good.


	9. The Necklace

                Chris woke up to find Stephanie all ready up, sitting on her bed, reading something. Chris watched her, pretending he was still asleep. She looked generally interested in what she was looking at, whatever it was. Finally she looked toward him, before he could close his eyes. She shook her head. "How long have you been watching me?"

                Caught, he finally sat up, stretching slightly. "Not long. What are you reading?"

                Stephanie sighed, holding up the book. _Her diary. _"It's all pretty strange, Blondie. You almost have me convinced, almost. But…I still don't remember. I do, but it's like…not all there. Tell me, what happened to me, if I can't remember and all? Did I hit my head?"

                Chris looked at her. She was going to find out sooner or later. "Your husband beat the shit out of you." He explained lowly. "I saved you, along with a few other people. The guy's an asshole, though, and that's why you were with me I guess. He didn't want to get divorced though, so he kidnapped you. And…that's what happened."

                She looked shocked, and suddenly her face paled considerably. "Chris…"

                She stood up, looking like she was dizzy. He quickly stood up, walking swiftly to her. He just reached her when she started to fall over. He caught her, righting her. "Whoa, whoa, easy there sweetie."

                She looked at him, starting to shiver, cold beads of sweat falling down her face. "Snow…cold…" she closed her eyes, looking like she was holding back the urge to puke.

                "Steph…? Are you all right?" he asked, his face etched with concern.

                "I'm so mixed up…I can't…there's all these things in my head…they won't go away…" she whimpered.

                He frowned at this. "I know it must be really confusing, but those pictures in your head are your real memories. And soon they'll all be back, and you'll be all right. Really."

                "How will I know which is right and which is wrong?" she asked, unsure.

                "I'll tell you." He managed a smile. She looked at him, then shook her head.

                "I'm going to take a shower, all right?" she asked, tiredly, pulling away from him. He just nodded and watched her shakily get ready for it, ultimately walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

                _She doesn't look so good. It must be so tough for her. She looks like it's making her sick. _Chris had no time to think about it, as the door suddenly was knocked on. He walked over and opened it to find Benoit standing there, smirking slightly.

                "Back to sleeping late, Chris?" he inquired. Chris shook his head.

                "Not really. Good to see you, man." Chris sighed.

                "You don't look like your usual jovial 'I love the world because it gave me stupid people to tease' mood." He raised a brow.

                "It's a long story." He moved aside. "Wanna come in?"

                "Naw, got things to do. Just wanted to say that I think Spike has Stephanie's necklace." He shrugged. "She's missing it, right?"

                _Necklace—NECKLACE! Holy shit! That's it! _"Benoit, you're a genius!" Chris couldn't help himself and he hugged his friend. Benoit looked like he was in shock.

                "Um…I am?" he asked, sounding confused. "Wait a second...of course I am! …Why am I one again?"

                "Where's Spike?" he asked, ignoring the question.

                "Uh…no clue. Chris, what's this about?" Benoit now sounded like he was demanding to know.

                "Listen, Stephanie thinks she's a British hooker…but that necklace will get her on the right track! We need to find it!"

                "Stephanie? British hooker? What?" Benoit blinked.

                Chris wrote a quick note. "Just come on!"

                Before he could say another word, Chris dragged Benoit away, closing the door behind him.

~~

                "Chris?"

                Chris watched as the door widened, a drowsy looking Jeff peeking his head out. He stared at two at the door confused.

                "Hey Jeff." Chris greeted. Jeff blinked once.

                "Uh…hey. Might there be a reason why you're knocking on our door so early in the morning?" he asked, almost grumpily.

                "Who's there, Jeff?" he heard from the back. Lita's head suddenly popped out from behind the door as well. "Chris?"

                "Just the girl I wanted to see." Chris grinned at Lita, who looked confused. "I need your help. Come on."

                Lita stared at him for a second, then shrugged. "All right. Whatever."

                Jeff continued to look confused as Lita left to get dressed. "Help? What help?"

                "Girl stuff." Chris said_. That isn't a lie totally…_

"Ah. I see." Jeff nodded, understanding. 

                Lita quickly appeared again. "I'll be back later, Jeff. Tell Matt when he wakes up."

                "Sure thing. G'luck." He yawned loudly, closing the door.

                "What's up?" she asked as they walked away from the door. She had kept her voice low so no one could hear them talking.

                "Yeah. What's this about Stephanie being a hooker? And why are you guys acting all secretive? I'm feeling a little left out here." Benoit looked at the two.

                "Stephanie isn't all there in the head." Lita explained. "She thinks she's someone else…and we need to get her back to normal before people find out."

                "Oh." Benoit simply said, then shook his head. "Why do I always get myself into stuff like this?"

                "I need you two to look for Spike. Ask around. Get the necklace from him." Chris continued explaining his plan, ignoring Benoit.

                "…I need new friends…that's what I need…" Benoit continued, basically mumbling to himself.

                "Necklace?" Lita asked. "Oh! THAT necklace. Hey, that's a good idea! She really loved that thing."

                "Exactly why we need it back." Chris replied dryly. "Now go. We'll meet in the lobby in an hour."

                The three broke off into different directions. Chris decided to ask around to see if anyone saw them.

                The first person he happened to come across was Trish, who was getting some coffee in the lobby. He walked up to her, instantly plastering a smile on his face. _Have to look not so suspicious. _

"Hey Trish." He greeted the petite blonde woman. She turned her head to smile at Chris.

                "Hey Chris, how are you?" she asked.

                "Great." He lied, because he wasn't anything close to that. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

                "Sure, shoot." She responding, stirring in some fat free milk into her cup.

                "I was wondering if you saw Spike around…"

                "Spike Dudley?" she asked, looking at him again. She thought a moment. "Actually, I did see him a little while ago. Talking to um…" she paused. "Oh yeah! He was talking to Crash. They were having another one of their squabbles. The two really never change."

                "Crash? Do you know where he went after that?"

                "Nope, sorry." She shook her head.

                "All right, thanks anyway Trish." He waved a hand and walked off.

                "C-ya." She responded, going back to working on her coffee.

                Chris went back to looking. He walked down a hallway, hoping that he has around there. Instead, he found Edge, who was currently sulking against a wall. Chris approached and Edge just nodded to him.

                "Something wrong?" he asked.

                "Christian's being a jackass again." Edge rolled his eyes.

                "Ah." He shook his head.

                "You need something?" Edge asked, looking towards him.

                "Yeah, actually. I was wondering if you knew where Spike is?"

                 "Spike? Actually, yeah. He was looking for Molly. She must have run off for a bit without him knowing." He managed one of his large grins. "He seemed pretty jolly though, one of his good moods I suppose."

                "Did he say where he was looking?"

                "Well, I told him I thought I saw her at the pool." Edge shrugged. "Maybe he's still there, I don't know."

                "Pool? All right, cool, thanks a lot Edge. I'll talk to you later."

                "Good luck, man." He waved Chris off, and Chris hurried to the indoor pool.

                "Finally." He breathed a sigh of relief. There was Spike, sitting poolside with Molly. She was in the water, listening to him talk. As Chris got closer, he noticed what was in Spike's hand. "The necklace!"

                Spike turned his head to look at him, surprised. "Oh, hey Chris."

                "God am I glad to see you, Spike." Chris reached him. "Where did you find that necklace?"

                "Oh, this one? Kurt found it. He didn't want it so he said I could give it to Molly. But I think someone owns it, and so does Molly. Why do you ask?"

                "Because that's –my- necklace." He said quickly.

                Spike blinked. "Uh…Chris, this necklace is a little girly, don't you think?"

                Chris paused, then understood what he meant. "Oh, no no…it's not –my- necklace…it's Stephanie's."

                "Really? Well, in that case, here you go!" he handed it over. "See Molly? Toldja."

                She nodded and smiled. "I thought it look familiar."

                "I have to get going. Thanks a lot, guys." He quickly walked out, leaving the couple to stare after him, looking a bit confused.

                _I got it._ Chris looked at it, grinning broadly. _If this doesn't work, nothing will!_

Chris walked to the lobby to find Benoit and Lita all ready waiting for him. He held it up for them to see. "Not bad. Good then, so…what now?" Benoit inquired. "We show it to her and…poof, no more hooker?"

                "I guess so." Chris shrugged. "Let's go see, all right?"

                "Maybe you should do it alone, Chris." Lita suggested. Chris looked at her. "I think it'll only freak her out even more with more then you there." She paused. "We'll wait outside, though. Just in case."

                "Sounds like a plan." Chris nodded.

                They walked back to the room, and Lita and Benoit got comfortable against the walls near it. Chris entered the room, his hand gripping the necklace tightly. _Come on, this has to work…it just has too…_


	10. Normalcy

                Chris found Stephanie on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. He walked over to her, unsure if she was even awake. She was, and she blinked, shook her head, and sat up when she noticed him.

                "You like zipping out, don't you?" she asked.

                "Sorry about that. Benoit came and I…listen, Deliah…I have something for you, something that might jog your memory. Wanna see?"

                "Like I have a choice." She rolled her eyes. He slowly opened his hand to show the necklace to her.

                She looked at it, almost curiously. She took it from him, turning it over, examining it closely. This isn't going to…

                "You…gave this to me…Christmas…" she stood up, holding her head slightly. "I never got anything so beautiful…"

                She turned to him. It was then he noticed she was trembling again. The memories must be smashing into her… "Steph?" he asked, taking a step to her. "Deliah?" She didn't respond, but continued to stare at the necklace. "Are you all right?"

                She suddenly fell to the ground. Chris couldn't get to her in time and her head bounced almost lifelessly against the ground. Chris rushed to her, bending down. She was breathing. She had just fainted. Still, he didn't want to take any chances and he took the necklace from her, putting it in his pocket. He scooped her up and quickly exited the room.

                "Oh my god, what happened?" Lita had seen them first, and she quickly got off the wall, looking at the fainted Stephanie.

                "She just went…bam. We have to get her to the hospital." Chris said in a rushed voice.

                "We can take my car, then." Benoit offered.

                With a ride, the trio made their way to the parking lot. They got a few stares, but most just got out of their way. Benoit hopped into the front seat to drive, and Lita sat next to him in the passenger seat. Chris sat in the back, cradling Stephanie in his arms. _Maybe this was a bad idea. Her mind is so fragile. What if I lost her forever?_ The ride seemed unbearably too long. When they reached the hospital that was nearby, Chris easily carried her in.

                "Help her." He pleaded the nurse at the desk. She looked at him, then her.

                "What's wrong?" she asked.

                "She's sort of fainted, if you can't tell." He replied sharply. The nurse crinkled her nose.

                "All right, I'll get a stretcher for her."

                Chris watched as she was taken away after the stretcher was called. The doctor had asked what happened and Chris told him as best as he could. Then all he could do was watch her being wheeled away, and he was quickly dragged back to do paperwork. He filled in all he knew as he sat in the lobby. Lita and Benoit just watched him silently.

                After he was done filling it out, the lady took it, and seemed annoyed not all of the blanks were filled, but said nothing. Instead she hurried back to her desk. Chris sat back in his chair, closing his eyes, trying to will away all his fears. _What if that just was too much for her to handle? I pushed it too much…_

                After an hour, the doctor came out and walked to the trio. "Are you here for Mrs. McMahon?" he inquired.

                "Yes, that's us." Chris stood up, looking at him narrowly. "How is she? Is she all right?"

                "She's fine. She has a little bump on her head, but besides that, she's just resting. From what I hear she's had quite a bad experience."

                "Is she awake?" Chris asked. The doctor shook his head.

                "Not yet. You can see her though." He glanced at them. "Have a nice day."

                Chris instantly got up, walking away without even saying anything to his two companions. He was directed to her room by one of the nurses. As he entered he winced as a flashback of her lying there after he got her from Hunter. He hadn't even heard word of Hunter, and he didn't even care what had become of the man. He had done this to her. It was enough to make his blood boil. He walked over to her, looking down. She was quietly sleeping away, like nothing around her was wrong.

                And then Chris sat down, near her bedside, willing her to awaken and be all right. _What if the bump made her lose everything, even her weird Deliah personality? I'd never forgive myself! _He frowned and put his head in his hands, letting out a breath. _I let everyone down. I can protect her, look at her. _She's back in the hospital because of me.

                He sat there for what seemed like hours, berating himself. Of course, when he suddenly heard a noise of movement from the bed, his head shot up in shock. It was purely silent until then, and it was unmistakable when the noise sounded. He got up, walking to her bedside again. At the exact moment he looked down, her eyes slowly opened, and she squinted up to look at him. She stayed silent.

                "Stephanie? Sweetie?" he asked, his voice unsure.

                "C-Chris?" she asked, her voice sounding like she was choking back tears. "Oh my god, I thought…I thought I'd never see you again." She sat up, rubbing head. Chris couldn't stop himself from smiling.

                "Stephanie, does the name Deliah seem familiar to you?" he inquired. Stephanie looked at him oddly.

                "No." she shook her head. "…Where am I?"

                Chris pulled her into a hug that she gladly accepted. "God, Chris. I missed you. I thought…"

                "Shh." He simply said, quieting her. "You're safe now. You're back."

                He almost didn't want to pull away, but he finally did. He pulled the necklace out of his pocket, letting it dangle in front of her. Her dazed smile grew and she took it from him. "My necklace…" She took it and put it around her neck. "I thought…you weren't going to come get me after a while. Pretty stupid, huh?"

                "I'd die before I did that." He replied honestly. "God, I missed you so much. So much." He let his hand brush through her hair and she smiled, touching her hand to his.

                "I know that now. You'll always be my hero." She finally pulled him into a kiss, and it was one that Chris had been waiting for for too long.

~~

**August, 2002**

                "Chris! We're gonna be late!" Stephanie huffed, a little annoyed. Chris waved a hand and went back to pulling his hair into a ponytail. Stephanie tapped her foot testily, rolling her eyes. "I don't know who's more of a girl here, me or you!"

                "Well I do like to be pretty." He grinned.

                "You're impossible." She groaned.

                "I know, that's part of my unending charm." He winked, walking to her. "Am I right?"

                "I won't let you have the satisfaction of knowing." She made a face at him and he just shook his head and kissed her. 

                "Love ya too." He smirked.

                She let out a little huff and rolled her eyes again, crossing her hands over her chest. "Don't think you're getting out of moving your ass a little faster, though. Come on."

                "All right, all right, I'm ready. Yeesh." He let himself be dragged out by the now annoyed brunette.

                It was Jeff's birthday, and Matt and Lita had planned a party fit for him with the help of Stephanie and Chris of course. Everything had gone back to normal since the fiasco that had made itself known during the big Hunter trouble. Stephanie was back to being herself, the wounds healed, and, even better, Stephanie and her family was more family-like.

                But Stephanie never forgot her other family.

                "Steph! Say, if you color your hair blue, it'd be the best present ever!" Jeff joked, giving her thumbs up. She giggled, even though Chris shot her a look.

                "If looks could kill." Rob laughed. Chris turned to see the mild-mannered man, grinning at him.

                "Rob, glad you could make it!" Jeff clapped him on the back.

                "Thanks for inviting me." He shrugged. "Party's…cool."

                "Sums it up pretty well, doesn't it?" Stephanie grinned. Chris nodded in agreement.

                "Vince still bugging you?" Rob asked when Stephanie left to talk to Lita. Chris watched her talk and, even better, laugh.

                "He's still a little iffy with me." He explained. "With her, too. He's pretty stubborn."

                "Well, so are you." Chris glanced at him. "I mean, I know I'm not the smartest person in the world, but I'm thinkin'…to be able to take care of her right, you'd need to be stubborn. Make sure you keep her in check and vice versa."

                _Why did that make sense? I've been hanging out with him too much._

Rob walked away. He stopped mid-step, turning to Chris. "By the way, good luck with asking the big one. Maybe you shouldn't look so nervous. It ain't too…cool looking."

                Chris blinked in shock, staring after him. He felt the lump in his pocket, a bit nervously.

                _How'd he know?_ Chris thought a moment. _You know what, maybe it'll be better if I just don't ask. _Chris shook his head and turned to Stephanie again, taking a breath, taking the black box out of his pocket. He hid it behind his palm.

                "Hey Steph, come here, I have something to ask you…"

~END~

**A/N:** And that's it. After months and months of writing, that is the official end to this three part series. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks for reading!!


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